Urban Initiatives is enormously grateful to have worked through Public Allies to bring the Starbucks Community Service team to work at our Englewood partner schools. We are excited about the possibility of continuing this partnership to support our beloved schools. Urban Initiatives values opportunities for people to experience different communities, ideas, and ways of living, and we know that these volunteers benefited from their work in Englewood just as much as the residents.
Despite an uncooperative weather forecast for late April, Starbucks volunteers trekked down to Englewood to put in a good, full day of work. Some volunteers represented stores from as far out as DeKalb! Everyone gathered at Fulton school bright and early to hear introductions from Starbucks Regional Managers and representatives from partner organizations Urban Initiatives and ReBuild Chicago. Of course, coffee and breakfast snacks were provided, so spirits were high even if the clouds outside were low.
Starbucks volunteers supported projects at two Urban Initiatives partner schools. At Claremont Academy we revitalized an existing basketball court, pressure washing the court and adding fresh lines. We installed new fencing and a bench around the lot, and finished the day off by adding two brand new hoops! Starbucks volunteers enjoyed working with some of the Claremont soccer team players, and are planning a follow-up day to do more painting on the court!
The team of volunteers at Fulton worked on beautification projects all around the school. In addition to some outdoor landscaping and cleaning classrooms, volunteers painted a mural for the school’s ample indoor wall space and installed a garden, complete with a variety of flowers, herbs and vegetables! Check out the photos to be impressed by what enthusiastic group was able to accomplish in just a few hours. Probably the biggest challenge of the day was finding enough work for all the willing hands; we all agreed that this was a pretty good problem to have.
